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LGBT Center

Local Bars Support Pride All Month Long

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June is PRDIE month a celebration to recognize the sweeping impact that LGBT individuals, advocates and allies have on history in the United States and around the globe, according to the Library of Congress. 

The month of June was chosen for LGBT Pride Month to commemorate the riots held by members of the LGBT community against a police raid that took place at the Stonewall Inn in New York City on June 28, 1969. The Stonewall riots were a “tipping point” for the gay liberation movement in the United States. The uproar also paved the way for the modern fight for LGBT rights.  Dayton Pride is this weekend with a Friday’s Affair at the Square from 6-10pm featuring 3 bands and The Rubi Girls. Saturday starts with a reverse parade down Second Street from 10-11am and food, drink, vendor booths and live entertainment at Courthouse Square from noon-4pm.

Many Dayton area bars are joining together to show their pride, by offering drinks specials that will donate a portion of sales to the Greater Dayton LGBT Center for the entire month of June.

 

Crystal Head Vodka is proud to be an ongoing supporter of the LGBTQ+ community. and is the official Vodka sponsor of Dayton Pride. They’ve just released a  limited-edition Pride bottle. The 2021 Pride bottle release contains our original vodka, distilled 4 times from the highest quality, locally-sourced Canadian corn. Silky smooth with a hint of sweetness and vanilla. Filtered through Herkimer diamonds and blended with pristine Newfoundland water. This pure spirit is completely free from additives and made with pride.  As they explain it, “Colour plays a vital role in the world we live in, often used as a powerful communication tool and form of creative expression. Colour evokes feeling and has a direct link to creative thinking. Crystal Head Vodka is proud to bring creative spirits to life in celebration of diversity and equality with our newest limited-edition release. We are committed to supporting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and related communities through our continuous involvement with LGBTQ+ foundations, charities and organizations.”

Billy Cavallo, the East Coast Brand Ambassador for Crystal Head, will be in Dayton this weekend to celebrate PRIDE, and visiting many of the bars supporting the LGBT Center promotion. The following bar have all committed to show their Pride:

  • MJs on Jefferson
  • Right Corner
  • Club Evolution
  • Mudlick Tap House
  • Ned Peppers
  • Hole in the Wall
  • Newcoms Tavern
  • Carmels Southwest Grill
  • Patterson Pub
  • Troll Pub
  • Timothys Double 18 Lounge
  • Back Home Table and Tavern
  • Tuty’s Bar and Grill
  • WO Wrights
  • Warped Wing
  • Heather’s
  • Mr Boros
  • The Barrel

Meet Warped Wing’s  Pride-a-Rita, a refreshing beer cocktail that blends Milagro silver tequila, passionfruit syrup, Magic Melon Gose, and triple sec. This tasty cocktail is on special for the entire month of June. Show your pride and try one at either  Taproom!

Dayton PRIDE Celebration cancelled for 2020

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In a statement released by the LGBT Center, PRIDE 2020 is officially cancelled:

“It is with heavy hearts that the Greater Dayton LGBT Center Board of Directors has decided to cancel in-person LGBTQIA+ Pride for Dayton this year. We originally postponed the events for Pride weekend from June to August hoping the local effects of the COVID pandemic would have been minimized by that time. Unfortunately, it is painfully obvious that we are not able to hold large gatherings and parades such as Pride without risking the health and wellbeing of our community. Although it is never easy to make a decision such as this, we decided that your health is the most important thing this year.

Of course, we can’t just skip recognition of Pride during 2020 so we will be shifting our August 22 celebration from in-person to online. We are still putting plans together, but we will be holding a televised and Facebook Live event from 1pm to 3pm. The celebration will be similar to our Pride Stage Show featuring local speakers and entertainment. Please stay tuned for more information and plan to join us online August 22nd!”

 

With an estimated  5000 people packing Courthouse Square for this annual event, the cancellation isn’t much of a surprise, as the pandemic makes it just unsafe to proceed. Normally a 3 day celebration, with a bar crawl on Friday, parade and festival on Saturday and Sunday is the PFLAG 5K and the Spikes and Heels kickball tournament.

PFLAG has decided they are able to move forward with their Running with Pride 5K on Sunday, Aug 23rd.  The race steps off at 9am from Welcome Park on Edwin C. Moses Blvd.

 

 

COVID-19 Causes Dayton Pride To Move to August

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The annual Dayton Pride Celebration that traditionally occurs the first weekend of June will be moving to August for 2020.   In an email released by The Greater Dayton LGBT Center they’ve stated:
 “It is with your health in mind that the Board of Directors of the Greater Dayton LGBT Center habe decided to postpone our annual LGBTQ+ Pride celebration this year. It was a heartbreaking decision, but we are dedicated to hold Pride this year while doing what we can to keep everyone as safe as possible. The new date for Dayton LGBTQ+ Pride will be August 21-23, 2020.”
The three day celebration brings the community together with performances by Dayton’s Rubi Girls and Gay Men’s Chorus on Friday night, a parade of cars, floats and organizations that begins Saturday’s festival at Courthouse Square with over 60 booths, food trucks and entertainment and Sunday’s Spikes and Heels kickball tournament.
More information is available on the Center’s website.

Today is the Day of Transgender Remembrance

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12272623_10153127702751956_2039615791_nToday is the world wide Transgender Day of Remembrance, dedicated to educating people about the trans community and the important issues trans people face worldwide, from hate crimes, to healthcare hurdles, to employment discrimination.

Created originally to honor Rita Hester, a highly visible member of the transgender community in her native Boston, MA where she worked locally on education around transgender issues. Rita was stabbed 20 times in her apartment.  Almost two decades later, police still have not found Rita’s murderer (or murderers). In 1999, one year after Rita’s murder, advocate and writer Gwendolyn Ann Smith coordinated a vigil in Rita’s honor. The vigil commemorated not only Rita, but all who were tragically lost to anti-transgender violence.

Transgender Pride Flag

Findings from the ‘Injustice at Every Turn’ report conducted by the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) and the National LGBTQ Task Force showed alarming rates of violence and harassment expreienced by the more than 6,000 transgender repondents across a variety of contexts, including educational settings, at work, in interactions with police and with family members, at homeless shelters, accessing public accommodations, and in jails and prisons.

Although not every person represented during the Day of Remembrance self-identified as transgender — that is, as a transsexual, crossdresser, or otherwise gender-variant — each was a victim of violence based on bias against transgender people. The deaths of those based on anti-transgender hatred or prejudice are largely ignored. Over the last decade, more than one person per month has died due to transgender-based hate or prejudice, regardless of any other factors in their lives.

The 2014 Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and HIV-affected Hate Violence Report from the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Projects shows that, of the victims murdered, 80% were people of color, 55% were transgender women, and 50% were transgender women of color. Transgender women survivors of hate violence were also more likely to experience police violence, physical violence, discrimination, harassment, sexual violence, threats, and intimidation compared to those who were not transgender women

15025531_1515366375141678_8416433258949392199_oAnti-transgender violence isn’t just directed at adults. Statistics from the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) show that in schools, 16.2% of transgender students report being physically assaulted as a result of gender expression, while 32.5% experience physical harassment.

 

The Greater Dayton LGBT Center will host a Candlelight Ceremony today at 4pm to honor those lost to violence because they are Gender-Noncoforming.  The Center is located at 24 N. Jefferson St, Suite 200 and all are welcome. Their will be a panel discussion with members of our local Transgender community, as well as welcoming remarks from Mayor Nan Whaley.